by: Sun-J
Electronica, the genre that is already instrumentally challenged and stretched in every direction possible is about to take another blow from Dan Snaith. Better known to the general public as Manitoba he returns with his sophomore effort, Up in Flames. For those of you Manitoba listening rookies, Mr. Snaith's first release, Start Breaking My Heart was truly electronica without a doubt. There were no genre definitions to stretch. It seemed as if he had created the album brilliantly on a laptop using ProTools. Every element was exact and mixed down fluidly. On Up in Flames Snaith flips a bitch and brings a 60's feel along with acoustic and percussion instrumentation that masses to a unified orchestration of instruments. No sound or color can be easily derived. I hate to go against all that is Electronica, but it almost seems as if Snaith trashes the digital setup for ANALOG?
The second track, "Skunk" is absolutely ridiculous. Full of sounds, the track climaxes within less than ninety seconds with a scissoring sax, shortly followed by crisscrossing violins screeching themselves to harmony. On "Hendrix with KO," Snaith floats around a light vocal sample based on Ludacris' "Move Bitch." "Jacknuggeted," is reminiscent of Neil Diamond with an edge and a beat that comes at you sideways. "Bijoux" is cleverly layered with chords dancing around harmonies and funky percussion, and "Crayon" ironically is full of colors and equipped with some acoustic strumming.
It's no wonder Manitoba only logged forty minutes of music this time, his songs musically get to the point, and his beats are thick, funky and hit you from all angles. A complete change musically from his first release, but Manitoba delivers a surefire score.
Share
|
|
